Nationalism

As we were searching for this store tonight, we stopped to ask directions from some men sitting on the sidewalk outside of a hotel. When the owner of the hotel heard we were from America, he asked us to sit down for some coffee because he had lived in America for a time before he moved back to take over the family business. We spoke to him for a time about his thoughts on the EU and Turkey’s desire to join. Almost immediately he began to speak about Turkey’s dominance because of location, water sources, etc. He spoke of their desire to remain out of the EU for this very reason. He spoke of the blood that had been spilled on their soil to attain the country and freedoms they enjoyed today. And he spoke of his pride. All I could think of as he spoke were the books I had read on the development of nationalism in Turkey, which was an important process, and one that has unfortunately (or fortunately depending on how you view it) been difficult to duplicate in the surrounding region. Much of the nationalism inherent to Turkey’s culture today, was somewhat manufactured from the top down in the newly established Turkish state, which I’ve heard as both a positive and a negative depending on the critic. Obviously there were a number of kinks along the way, because these feelings were not shared by every level of society; however, many of the elite set out to alter the Turkish mentality and instill a new sense of patriotism. The language was reformed, as well as historical research conducted (meant to instill attachment to Turkey). Of course this was not the simplest task; it included the abandonment of the country’s primary attachment to Islam, the Ottoman Empire, and so forth. However, regardless of the top down approach taken to establish nationalist sentiment in the common Turk, in the end, they succeeded. This gentleman believed so deeply and wholeheartedly that Turkey was the greatest country in the world, and he is not alone. Each individual we spoke with had a great deal of national pride. It is almost as if the country has taken great care to emphasize the relatively new Turkish history, with statues of Ataturk displayed throughout the city. Through this shared history comes a sense of pride. Reestablishing the country from the Ottoman Empire to the new Republic, based on Western thought and ideas could not have been an easy task, and yet Turkey is one of the most successful countries in the region, and part of this success, I believe is due to the country’s nationalism.